Samuel de Champlain

William Pitt

British prime minister from 1757-1758. Pitt was known as the "Great Commoner". He was a leader in the London government, earning himself the name "Organizer of Victory" for his leadership in changing the direction and organization of the French & Indian War. Pittsburg was named after him.

Robert de La Salle

French explorer who was the first European to float down to the mouth of the Mississippi River from Canada and upon seeing the beautiful river valley, named Louisiana after his king, Louis XIV, in 1682.

James Wolfe

British general whose success during the French and Indian War in the decisive Battle of Quebec won Canada for the British Empire. Even though the battle was only fifteen minutes, Wolfe was killed in the line of duty.

Edward Braddock

British commander during the French and Indian War. He attempted to capture Fort Duquesne in 1755. He was defeated by the French and the Indians who fought "Indian Style of Warfare" (guerilla warfare hiding behind trees and rocks). At this battle, Braddock was mortally wounded.

Pontiac

Huguenots

French Protestants that lived from about 1560 to 1629. At first this new religious group was royally protected, but toward the end of the reign of King Francis I they were persecuted. Nevertheless, they continued to grow, were persecuted, and then fled to the New World.

Albany Congress

(June 19 - July 11, 1754 in Albany, NY) A conference in which a union of the British colonies for their security and defense against the French was advocated. Ben Franklin was the famous proponent of the idea with his "Join or Die" disjointed snake cartoon. Eventually, though, unity was NOT achieved, as the colonies didn't want to give up their independence and sovereignty to a national group.

Proclamation of 1763

An English law that forbade the colonists from settling beyond the Appalachian Mountains. The colonists felt betrayed by the act thinking they'd just fought the war for the land then were not allowed to settle there. The Proclamation of 1763 caused the first major revolt against the British.

Utrecht Peace Treaty

War of Jenkins' Ear

(1739) Was triggered when King George II declared war on Spain after Captain Jenkins had his ear sliced off by Spanish authorities. Battles took place in the Caribbean and on the Florida/Georgia border.

King George's War (A, 1744-1748) / War of Austrian Succession (E, 1740-1748)

3rd war between England and France+Spain and their respective Indian allies. It ended with a peace treaty in 1748, in which Britain returned Louisbourg to France, enraging the colonists who had captured it for Britain.

French and Indian War (A, 1754-1763) / Seven Years' War (E, 1756-1763)

4th war between England+Prussia and France+Spain+Austria+Russia+the Indians. It took place on American soil over control of the Ohio River Valley. The English defeated the French in 1763. It established England as the number one world power, France was totally kicked out of North America and England/America gained land up to the Mississippi River; however, subsequent events began to gradually degrade the attitudes of the colonists toward England.

Treaty of Paris

James Oglethorpe

The tightly-disciplined, military-like founder and governor of the Georgia colony, where slaves, alcohol, and Catholicism were forbidden. Many colonists' notion that Oglethorpe was a dictator caused the colony to break down and Oglethorpe to lose his position. He kept the Spanish at bay during King George's War.